The European Commissioner for Energy and Housing, Dan Jørgensen, appealed to more investments and “less bureaucracy.”
The European Commission and Parliament face the housing crisis in the European Union (EU).
The situation is fundamental: the increase in the prices of the properties combined with the shortage in the supply of houses has made housing access increasingly difficult.
“We have to redouble our efforts to increase investment in the housing sector. We also need to analyze other regulations that currently avoid the construction of more houses“ said Dan Jørgesen, Commissioner of Energy and Housing, to Euronews, appealing to “Less bureaucracy.”
Between 2010 and 2023, income increased an average of 22% and the prices of 48% properties, according to Eurostat.
Construction production costs increased 52% in the same period, according to the European Agency.
Toolbox
The European Commission, the MEPs and several interested parties began on Monday in Brussels, a dialogue to find solutions to the European housing crisis.
The scope of the project is vast, discussing issues such as housing scarcity, social housing, energy poverty, work shortage in the construction industry and obstacles to obtaining planning licenses.
The EU is particularly interested in the impact of the short lace, which represents almost a quarter of the tourist lease.
*We certainly analyze the role of short leases. On the one hand, it is an opportunity to visit other countries, have an action, rent a room or a home for a limited period of time. On the other hand, it causes great problems in certain cities, where people are forced to leave their homes to a greater or lesser extent, so that they become a commercial machine, so to speak, instead of a normal home “,* He told Dan Jørgensen to Euronews.
The measures on the table include the use of European financing for the construction of social housing and the creation of a Pan-European recruitment platform to deal with the shortage of labor in the construction sector.
There is no unique solution for all
The European Parliament has recently created a special commission on the EU housing crisis, which should present recommendations to the commission within a year.
His president, Irene Tinagli, insists that there are no “universal income” to guarantee access to affordable homes in block 27.
“There may be areas where the problem is more on the search side, others where the problem is more on the offer side and where the type of offer varies. There are areas where the construction of new homes is unthinkable and where it is really necessary to work in existing infrastructure, rehabilitation and renewal. There are areas in which it is possible to relieve the problem through construction.“ Irene Tinagli, president of the Special Parliamentary Commission on the Housing Crisis in the European Union.
Between 2007 and 2019, the age at which most Europeans leave the house of their parents from 26 to 28 years.
Housing is not a direct EU competition. Therefore, the maneuver margin is limited.
